deafening shouts of applause. His presence was the signal fər action, and a sanction for the outrages that ensued.

Atchison then addressed his forces, in language not sufficiently well selected for ears polite, and then marched the whole column to within a short distance of the hotel, where they halted. Jones now informed Col. Eldridge, the proprietor, that the hotel must be destroyed; he was acting under orders; he had writs issued by the First District Court of the United States to destroy the Free-State Hotel, and the offices of the Herald of Freedom and Free Press. The grand jury at Lecompton had indicted them as nuisances, and the court had ordered them to be destroyed. He gave Col. Eldridge an hour and a half to remove his family and furniture, after which time the demolition commenced, and was prosecuted with an earnestness that would have done credit to a better

cause.

In the mean time the newspaper offices had been assailed, the presses broken to pieces, and these, with the type and other material, thrown into the Kansas River. The following extract from the report of these transactions, given in the columns of the Lecompton Union, the most rabid pro-slavery paper in Kansas, the Squatter Sovereign excepted, is too significant not to be read with interest:

"During this time appeals were made to Sheriff Jones to save the Aid Society's Hotel. This news reached the company's ears, and was received with one universal cry of No! no! Blow it up! blow it up!'

"About this time a banner was seen fluttering in the breeze over the office of The Herald of Freedom. Its color was a blood-red, with a lone star in the centre, and South Carolina above. This banner was placed there by the Carolinians-Messrs. Wrights and a Mr. Cross. The effect was prodigious. One tremendous and long-continued shout burst from the ranks. Thus floated in triumph the banner of South Carolina,-that single white star, so emblematic of her course in the early history of our sectional disturbances. When every southern state stood almost upon the verge of ceding their dearest rights to the north, Carolina stood boldly out, the firm and unwavering advocate of southern institutions.

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Thus floated victoriously the first banner of southern rights over the abolition town of Lawrence, unfurled by the noble sons of Carolina, and every whip of its folds seemed a death-stroke to Beecher propagandism and the fanatics of the east. O! that its red folds could have been seen by every southern eye!

"Mr. Jones listened to the many entreaties, and finally replied that it was beyond his power to do anything, and gave the occupants so long to remove all private property from it. He ordered two com

A

SACKING OF LAWRENCE.

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panies into each printing office to destroy the press. Both presses were broken up and thrown into the street, the type thrown in the river, and all the material belonging to each office destroyed. After this was accomplished, and the private property removed from the hotel by the different companies, the cannon were brought in front of the house and directed their destructive blows upon the walls. The building caught on fire, and soon its walls came with a crash to the ground. Thus fell the abolition fortress; and we hope this will teach the Aid Society a good lesson for the future."

Whilst the work of destruction was going on at the printingoffices, the bombardment of the hotel, a strongly constructed three-story stone building, commenced. Kegs of gunpowder had been placed inside and the house fired in numerous places; and whilst the flames were doing their destructive work within, heavy cannon were battering against the walls without; and amid the crackling of the conflagration, the noise of falling walls and timbers, and the roar of the artillery, were mingled the almost frantic yells of satisfaction that constantly burst from the "law and order" lovers of Kansas Territory. Jones himself was in ecstasies. He sat upon his horse, contemplating the havoc he was making, and rubbing his hands with wild delight, exclaimed: "This is the happiest day of my life. I determined to make the fanatics bow before me in the dust, and kiss the territorial laws; and I have done it-by G-d, I have done it!"

And then followed scenes of reckless pillage and wanton destruction in all parts of that ill-fated town. Stores were broken into and plundered of their contents. Bolts and bars were no obstacles to the entrance of drunken and infuriated men into private dwellings, from which most of the inhabitants had fled in terror. From these everything of value was stolen, and much that was useless to the marauders was destroyed.

The closing act of this frightful drama was the burning of the house of Dr. Robinson on the brow of Mount Oread. This was set on fire after the sun had gone down, and the bright light which its flames shed over the country illuminated the paths of the retreating army, as they proceeded toward their homes, pillaging houses, stealing horses, and violating the persons of defenceless women. All these dreadful deeds were done by human authority. There is yet an account to render to a Higher Power!

During the perpetration of these atrocities, one of the proslavery intruders accidentally shot himself on Mount Oread,

another was killed by the falling of a brick from the free-state hotel, and a third had his leg crushed and broken by falling from his horse when gallopping in pursuit of an unoffending man, whom he had mistaken for Governor Reeder.

CHAPTER XIV.

Murderous assault on a pro-slavery company.-Captain John Brown.The Potawattomie murders.-Outrages of Captain Pate at Osawattomie.Battle of Palmyra.-Fight at Franklin.-General Whitfield's army.Colonel Sumner disperses the contending armies.-Murder of Cantral.Sacking of Osawattomie.-The murder of Gay, an Indian agent.-Outrages at Leavenworth and on the Missouri River.

AFTER the sacking of Lawrence, parties of free-state men were organized and armed with the determination to continue the war which had now begun in earnest. Some of these committed depredations upon their political opponents under the pretence of recovering horses and other property of which themselves and neighbors had been robbed. They attacked the pro-slavery men in the roads and at their dwellings, and committed most flagrant outrages. These organizations and their actions were condemned by the prominent and more respectable portions of the free-state party, and very few of the actual settlers of the territory had any lot or part in their proceedings. They were chiefly composed of men of desperate fortunes, who were actuated in many instances as much by a disposition to plunder as from a spirit of retaliation and revenge for insults and injuries they had received.

A detachment of one of these parties, eight in number, secreted themselves in a ravine near the Santa Fe road, where they laid in wait for a company of eighteen pro-slavery men who they had understood were coming in that direction on a marauding expedition, and as they approached, a fire was poured into them from their ambushed enemies, killing three and wounding several more. The remainder, not knowing the strength of their assailants, fled in dismay. Other instances of the kind were constantly occurring. Indeed, it seemed as though each party was determined to vie with the other in the number of outrages it could commit.

Captain John Brown, who lived near Osawattomie, was the

CAPTAIN JOHN BROWN.

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leader of one of these free-state guerilla bands. He was a Vermonter by birth, an old soldier, and had served through the war of 1812. He was a resolute, determined and brave old man; but fierce, passionate, revengeful and inexorable. His hatred for the border-ruffians had reached so high a degree, that he could emulate the worst of them in acts of cruelty, whilst not one among them was his equal as a tactician, or possessed as much courage and daring. Hence his name soon became a terror, and not a few. unsuccessful attempts were made to effect his capture.

Old Brown, as he was familiarly called, is said to have been the leader of a band, who on the night of the 26th of May, attacked a pro-slavery settlement at Potawattomie, and cruelly murdered a Mr. Doyle and his two sons, Mr. Wilkinson and Wm. Sherman. The excuse given for this act, is, that the persons killed were there assembled to assassinate and burn the houses of certain free-state men, whom they had notified to quit the neighborhood. These five men were seized and disarmed, a sort of trial was had, and in conformity with the sentence passed, were shot in cold blood. This was doubtless an act of retaliation for the work done but a few days before at Lawrence.

Captain H. C. Pate, who was in command of a predatory band of about sixty Missourians, called "Shannon's Sharp Shooters," resolved to capture Capt. John Brown, and with this intent visited Osawattomie on the last day of May. Old Brown was absent, and Captain Pate succeeded without resistance, in taking prisoners two of his sons, whom he found engaged in their peaceful occupations. Captain Pate's men burned the store of a German named Winer, who was supposed to have been in the Potawattomie affair, and also the house of young John Brown, the captain's son. After committing these and other depredations upon the free-state settlers, the most of whose houses they entered and robbed, Pate and his company left the place, taking with them their prisoners. These they delivered to a company of United States dragoons, whom they found encamped on the Middle Ottawa Creek.

When Captain Brown learned of the visit of Pate, he gathered a company of about thirty men, and hastening in pursuit, overtook him on the 2d of June, near Palmyra, about fifteen miles from Lawrence.

Pate was encamped when Brown appeared, and having been informed of his approach, had fortified his camp by drawing

together some heavy wagons. Brown soon made his arrangements, and notwithstanding the disparity of their forces, commenced the attack, when a spirited battle ensued. This lasted about three hours, when Captain Pate sent out a flag of truce, and unconditionally surrendered. Some of his men had ridden off during the fight, as was also the case with some of Brown's command. Several were severely wounded on both sides, but none were killed. Brown took thirty-one prisoners, a large number of horses, some wagons, arms, munitions, and a considerable amount of plunder that had been seized at various places by Pate's men. Soon after the surrender of Pate, Brown was reinforced by a Captain Abbott, with a company of fifty men from the Wakarusa, who had come to his assistance.

Whilst Brown was in pursuit of Captain Pate with the freestate men from Osawattomie, other parties from Lawrence and the Wakarusa were planning an attack on Franklin, where a number of the pro-slavery rangers had remained since the sacking of Lawrence. Franklin is about four miles from the latter town, near the Wakarusa, and on the road to Westport. It was a sort of Missouri head-quarters, where the forces were accustomed to assemble whenever a descent upon Lawrence was contemplated. Having settled the preliminaries to their satisfaction, a company of the attacking party entered Franklin about two o'clock on the morning of June 4th. The night was extremely dark, and everything in and about the town was wrapped in the most profound stillness. Yet the pro-slavery forces had been apprised of the intended visit, and were prepared to give the intruders a warm reception. The latter, numbering about fifteen men, proceeded directly to the guard house and demanded a surrender, which was answered by the discharge of a cannon planted in the door, that had been loaded heavily with every imaginable sort of missile that could be crammed into its muzzle. The noise of the explosion was like the loud roar of thunder in the very midst of the town. tunately for the assailants, the gun was not properly pointed, and its infernal contents passed harmless over their heads. Then came on the battle. A volley from the Sharpe's rifles of the free-state men was poured into the guard-room door, simultaneously with which, many shots came down from the neighboring houses. The attacking party threw themselves upon the ground, and without any regular order, kept up a random fire as rapidly as they could load their pieces, their enemies constantly returning their shots. In the meantime, reinforce

For